Carton



Feb. 5, 1935. F. w. ADSIT Er AL 1,989,659

CARTON Filed Nov. 22, 1930 V I V gwwzvdo'c 1 70/11/70 Kc/Visit firth? J16127109 attozmq Patented Feb. 5, 1935 PATENT OFFICE CARTON Frank w.Adsit and Arthur J. Murray, Minne-' apqlis, Minn., assignors, by directand mesne assignments, of one-half to said Adsit, onefourth to Howardand one-fourth dianapolis, Ind.

L. Fischer, St. Paul, Minn., to Irving M. Madison, In-

Application November 22, 1930, Serial No. 497,595

. 7 Claims.

Our invention relates to improvement in cartons and is particularlyadapted to a new construction of carton designed to hold the closingflaps in locked closed position.

A further feature of the invention resides in a locking means forholding the carton closed, particularly such type of cartons where oneor more of the flaps act as a closing flap for the carton placed eitherat the ends or on the side of the carton.

I Our invention further includes an improved locking means for theclosing flaps, such as butter cartons which have been treated with awax-like finish or a. parafiin finish, and where it is difiicult to holdthe flap in closed relation owing to the slipping of the same so thatour improved type of carton is designed to accomplish a means ofpositively locking the carton in closed relation and is very adaptableto butter and other similar cartons.

A feature resides in providing a flap for acarton with notches cut inthe edges in such a manner as to cause the notch to register with ashoulder formed by other flaps or portions of the carton and thusprevent the closing flap of the carton from becoming disengaged. Ourinvention includes a means of locking. a carton in a manner so that itmay be sealed if desired, to

prevent opening of the same without breaking the seal yet requiring noadditional parts or members excepting those forming the carton itself. 9

These features together with other details and objects of the inventionwill, be more fully and clearly set forth in the specification andclaims.

In the drawing forming part of our specification: a

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic died-out formation of a design of our'cartonand flap locking or sealing means.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the carton in closed position. V

Figure 3 is a section showing a portion of the carton broken away.

Figure 4 illustrates a detail portion of another tom of the locking sealfor the closing flap.

Figure 5 illustrates the form of locking seal for the flap inperspective, showing a portion of a carton and showing the closing flapin the act of being closed to seal the carton.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 'of Figure 4. I The carton A maybe made of any suitable shape and design and we have illustrated adiedout geometrical development of one form of the carton in Figure 1,which is the usual design and form of carton used for a pound of butteror the like. This provides a rectangular carton of the shape illustratedin Figure 2, when folded together.

The carton A is formed with a body portion 10 which is positionedcentrally and which is formed with transverse score lines 11, 12, 13 and14, so as to provide the sides 15 for the carton when the same isfolded.

From the score line 11 we provide a flap 16 which extends inside of thecarton when the same is folded. This flap 16 carries a shortend flap 17on one end. The side wall 15 between the transverse score lines 12 and13 is provided with end flaps 18 while the side wall 15 below the scoreline 14 in Figure 1 is provided with end flaps 19.

The side 15 between the transverse score lines 11 and 12 is providedwith an end closing flap 20 from which projects a locking or sealingflap 21 being joined withthe closing flap 20 by the score line 22.Virtually in line with the score line 22 we provide notches 23 which areformed with square shoulders on one side and rounded corners 24 on theother side.

The wall 15 between the transverse lines 13 and 14 of the body 10 isalso provided with an end closing flap 20 and a sealing or locking flap21, together with a locking notch 23 of the same formation justdescribed.

When the carton A is folded to close the same into the rectangularparallelepiped shape, it is folded on the score lines 11, 12, 13, and14, and the end flaps 1'7, 18, and 19 are folded into the ends asillustrated in Figure 5, so that the flaps 18 and 19 overlap at the endsfirst and then the closing flap 20 is folded to cover the flaps 18 and19 and the sealing or locking tongue 21 is slid into the opening 25. Theflaps 18 and 19 form a narrow slit 26 by reason of the straight sides 27formed on the flaps 18 and 19 into which the square shoulder of thenotch 23 is adapted to engage.

The flaps 20 may be provided with anotch 23 between the flap 20 and theclosing or sealing flap 21 with square shoulders on either side, asillustrated in Figure 4.

The primary feature of our carton resides in the means of locking theclosing flaps 20 to close the carton A so that these closing flaps willnot slip out after the tongue or sealing flap 21 has been inserted inthe opening 25. The open notches 23 provide locks'on either side of thefree end of the closing flap 20 which engage in the slits 26 and owingto the fact that the edges 28 of the tongue or sealing flap 21 which areadjacent the notches 23 naturally curl downward' slightly, the squareshoulder of the notch 23 will engage in the slits 26 bacl r of thestraight portion 27 of the flaps 18 and 19 and lock the'tongne 21 tohold the same against slipping out of the opening 25, thus holding theclosing end 20 of the carton sealed shut.

Figure 6 illustrates the slightly inwardly curled edges 28 of thesealing tongue or flap 21. We have found that our construction of cartonis particularly adapted to butter cartons or similar cartons which areparafiined or coated with a. wax-like finish where the flaps are ratherslippery and aptto slide out easily. This is an im- .portant structurein cartons of this nature because unless the butter is sealed in tightlyit is apt to slip out of one end and thus cause a material damage andloss. We have found our cartons to accomplish a very desirable and longfelt want in absolutely sealing the closing flaps of the carton in sucha manner that they will not open and if it is desired to lock the cartonwith a seal that will hold the same closed, it is only necessary to bendthe edges 28 inward a little more, whereupon they will tightly engageback of the straight edges 27 in the slits 26 formed thereby and willseal the carton closed so that it cannot be opened without virtuallydestroying or tearing a portion of the same. The advantages of thisstructure to butter cartons and the like will be Very apparent to thoseskilled in the art and we believe that we have accomplished a long feltwant.

In order that the cartons may be easily opened when desired, a portionof the fold between the flaps 20 and 21 is not scored. This unscoredportion is out along the line 30 to form a tab 31. When the flaps 21 arebent along the score lines 22, the tab 31 does not bend but remains inline with the flap 20, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 5. By pushingoutwardly on the tab 31, the seal may be released, and the end of thecarton opened without injuring any of the flaps. By opening in thismanner, the carton may be opened and closed repeatedly.

By forcing the tab 31 outwardly, the flap 21 is straightened out, andthe notches 23 come out of engagement with the edges 27. If it isattempted to open the carton in any other manner such as forcing thesides 32 of the flap 20 outwardly, the notches engage more firmly withthe edges 27, and it is virtually impossible to open the end in thismanner without damaging the flap 20 or 21.

In accordance with the patent statutes we have described our inventionand while we have set forth a particular structure and formation of thecarton, we desire to have it understood that the same is only suggestiveof a means of carrying out the principles thereof, as well as the shapeand design of the carton, it being obvious that other formations may beemployed where it is desired to lock or seal the cartons againstaccidental opening and our invention is within the scope of thefollowing claims.

We claim: 1. The combination, a carton container formed from a singlesheet of material died out to the desired shape with a series of sides,score lines through said sides, a series of closing flaps, some of whichprovide under closing flaps and others of which provide covervflaps,said underclosing flaps .ihaving tapered edges, straight portions onsaid tapered edgesadapted to co-operate with edges of the sides of thecarton to form a narrow slit, locking flaps on said cover flaps and saidcover flaps having a notched recess adapted to engage in said slits tolock the carton sealed.

2. The combination, of a carton having the character of a rectangularparallelepiped or the like, inner closing flaps having tapered edges,straight portions on said tapered edges adapted to co-operate withadjacent edges of the carton to provide narrow slits, a cover flap, alocking tongue formed extending from said cover flap, a score linedividing said cover flap and locking tongue, and a shouldered open notchin said cover flap formed in the ends of said score line to cause saidlocking tongue to extend into said slits and engage back of the edgethereof to hold the cover flap locked in closed position.

3. A carton including, a body portion having side walls formed therein,closing flaps at the ends thereof, a notch in said closing flaps, anarrow recess formed by the folding of the other closing flaps, saidnotch and said recess forming a lock for the closing flaps of saidcarton, and tab means extending to the surface plane of the adjacentside for opening said carton without injuring said flaps.

4.. A carton including, a body portion having integral closing flaps, alocking means for said closing flaps including an open notch andshoulder adapted to engage within a recess formed by folded portions ofthe carton, and tab means ex- 5. A carton closure in combination with acarton having a series of sides, closing flaps,.and a cover closing flapincluding, a locking means coniprising a notch, means in the coverclosing flap adapted 'to engage in a recess formed by said other flap,and a releasing tab to release said notch means extending to the surfaceplane of the adjacent side from engagement with 'said flaps.

6. A carton including, side walls forming a tubular carton, underclosing flaps formed on two of said side walls at each end of saidcarton, a tapered wall on one side of each of said under closing flaps,a straight portion on each of said tapered sides extending parallel tothe end of an adjacent side wall between said two side walls bearingunder closing flaps, closing flaps at each end on the remaining sidewall, a sealing flap on each closing flap, a notch on either side ofsaid closing flap, each notch comprising a right angular lockingshoulder adapted to engage behind the straight portions of the saidunder closing flaps, and an arcuated side on said notch adapted tofacilitate the operation of closing the closing flap.

7. A carton including, sides, closing flaps, a cover closing flap, and asealing flap on said cover closing flap, and a tab on said cover closingflap extending approximately to the surface plane of the adjacent sidefor pulling out said sealing flap.

FRANK W. ADSIT. v ARTHUR J. MURRAY.

